Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for gathering the waste material from persons who have undergone colostomy or ileostomy operations or the like. Although henceforth the invention will be described as a colostomy appliance, it should be understood that the features and advantages are equally applicable to other ostomy devices.
There are a large variety of portable colostomy appliances available today. A number of patented devices are illustrated and described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,902,036; 2,721,553; 2,808,830; 3,283,757; 3,043,306; 2,675,002; 3,789,846; 3,612,053; 2,874,697; 2,692,597. Basically, the design of all appliances is directed toward providing a means for retaining a disposable container in communication with the stoma opening to collect the waste material while at the same time avoiding any leakage outside of the container while the container is being worn.
As any colostomate realizes, the greatest problems encountered with appliances that are available today are the physical discomfort, the limit they place on the mobility of the colostomate who is always fearful of the security of the appliance and is concerned about moving about which could cause it to leak, the difficulty of cleaning out the device each time there has been a discharge, and the need for quickly and temporarily opening the appliance for release of gas or for other reasons. The instant invention provides these features while at the same time provides the basic design requirements described above and permits the disposable waste container to be easily and quickly removed and replaced with a clean fresh one.